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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Book Blog Tour of The Scottish Thistle by Cindy Vallar

I am excited to be part of Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tour of Cindy Vallar's The Scottish Thistle!

Synopsis:Thistle is a masked hero of the Highlands, akin to Robin Hood but Thistle helps smuggle goods into the Highlands instead of stealing from the rich. Like Robin Hood, Thistle shares the food and riches with those that need it most. When the book opens with "Thistle" has saved a man traveling alone from an attack. Thistle and his men aid injured Duncan Cameron and take him to their secret quarters.

Duncan Cameron had traveled into the territory searching for the outlawed MacGregor clan with a missive from his lord Lochiel that will require the fiercely independent Rory MacGregor to fulfill her father's decades old promise to marry a person of Lochiel's choosing. This early promise was made as a way to offer Rory the protection of a powerful clan and to give the MacGregor's a better future. They had not expected Rory to become chieftain of the MacGregors.

As chieftain, Rory agrees to marry Duncan Cameron but imposes two conditions: the marriage will be of short duration and it will not be consumated. Duncan agrees to the marriage because his lord demands it, but he agrees to Rory's conditions because he has come to respect and love her. Rory and Duncan slowly settle in to married life on Cameron lands, but their peaceful existence is shattered when the Stewarts ask longtime supporters to aid their return to the throne. Bonnie Prince Charlie drags Rory, Duncan, and all they love into the deadly battle.

Review:If you enjoyed Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, you will surely love The Scottish Thistle. It combines political intrigue, Scottish history, and a powerful love story. Rory MacGregor is strong, courageous, gifted and loyal - she takes on all odds to save those that she loves. Rory is well matched with Duncan Cameron. Duncan is an unmatched warrior and a leader who will fight to the end. While the details of the love story of Rory MacGregor and Duncan Cameron are different from those of Diana Gabaldon's Claire and Jamie, you will find yourself equally admiring of their courage and will and rooting for their survival. I thoroughly enjoyed The Scottish Thistle and recommend it highly!

About the Author, courtesy of the publisher:A former librarian, Cindy received the first Friend of Clan Cameron Award at the clan's North American Rally in 2005. She and her husband, Tom, are co-membership directors of the Red River Branch of the Clan Cameron Association. She teaches online workships and spaks to groups about Scottish history and culture, as well as her own passion - maritime pirates. She is the editor of Pirates and Privateers and the Associate Editor of Industry for Solander, the magazine of the Historical Novel Society, for which she pens the "Red Pencil" column where she profiles authors and compares a selection from their published novels with an early draft of that work. She also reviews for their journal, Historical Novels Review. She is an editor and copyeditor, and does freelance editing. She belongs to the Historical Novel Society, the Texas Coalition of Authors, the Scottish Clans of North Texas, the Laffite Society, the National Maritime Historical Society, the Louisiana Historical Society and EPIC. Learn more about her through Cindy Villar's website called Thistles & Pirates.

Thank you so much to Cindy Vallar, Tracee, and Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours for this review opportunity!

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After spending years as a corporate lawyer in a big law firm in NYC, I'm looking into starting my own practice. I have time to explore NYC, learn to cook and eat healthier, exercise, garden (on my Brooklyn balcony), and read more. My interests are very broad from cooking and gardening to real estate, estate planning, tax law, investing and law to escapist fiction of all types to nonfiction and memoirs. I've lived in many countries and cities and love to travel. I love hearing about other people's travels and experiences, so if you have any recommendations of places in your town or somewhere that you'd visited - please drop me a line @ gaby317nyc AT gmail DOT com. You can find me on twitter as startingfreshny.

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